As someone with low vision that can’t access standard print, I am an enthusiastic fan of eReading applications like Libby and Sora that enable users to check out eBooks and audiobooks from local libraries that can be read with assistive technology. Similar to my beloved Libby eReader app, Sora is a free digital reading app developed by OverDrive for K-12 students that is available through participating libraries as well as through school libraries, enabling readers to access books in digital formats on their own devices.
I first learned about the Sora eReader app when researching audiobook summer reading programs a few years ago, as Sora was used with the now-defunct Audiobook SYNC summer reading program that provided free audiobooks to teens. More recently, I have been using Sora to read picture books (especially Read-Along titles) for several different projects, including helping my brother with a literature class, documenting eBook accessibility for one of my classes, and researching publishers for my own manuscript. Here is an overview of the Sora eReader application for reading eBooks and audiobooks with low vision, including Sora accessibility features for low vision and what to expect when accessing Sora titles.
Accessing Sora libraries and Sora summer reading programs
Users will need to register for a free Sora account in order to access eBooks and audiobooks; Sora is separate from Libby. To access titles from a local library, readers can open the Main Menu option in the Sora application and select Add Library, followed by typing in their library card number and PIN (if applicable). Some libraries have titles with instant access and no wait time, while other titles may have a hold period. Readers can add multiple library cards on each Sora account. Many school libraries also use Sora for hosting digital collections and share specific instructions online for accessing Sora content.
Sora Sweet Reads is OverDrive’s annual summer reading program, which offers a collection of more than 100 free, simultaneous-use traditional eBooks and audiobooks, as well as Read-Alongs, comics, and graphic novels to participating school libraries in the United States, Canada, and in other locations. Readers who already have a school account with Sora can access Sweet Reads titles automatically by opening their school’s Sora page. Of course, readers can also use Sora titles to participate in other summer reading programs; eBooks and audiobooks count as reading, after all!
Related links
- Sora Sweet Reads – OverDrive Resource Center
- Reading Magazines With The Libby App And Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Summer Reading Lists For Print Disabilities
- Unique Summer Reading Prizes For Print Disabilities
Sora accessibility experiences: Fixed layout vs Responsive layout
Fixed-layout eBooks can include picture books, Read-Alongs, comics, and magazines that display content at a preset size and style determined by the publisher. Font size, typeface, line spacing, and other display settings cannot be adjusted by the reader. The primary accessibility tool for fixed-layout content in Sora is the built-in zoom feature: readers can click, tap, or use pinch gestures to zoom in or out, and double-tap to reset the zoom level. Horizontal scrolling or swiping is often required to read zoomed-in content. Students with CVI may find it easier to read boosk in a fixed layout on a backlit display (e.g. tablet) compared to reading from physical copies of books.
Responsive or Reflowable layouts often include chapter books or text-heavy content and support the full range of display customizations available in Sora’s eReader. Read to Me text-to-speech is also more reliably available in reflowable titles, which is an important Sora accessibility feature for screen reader and text-to-speech users. Many readers with low vision that use large print prefer reflowable eBooks because they offer greater control over display and eliminate the need for horizontal scrolling when reading text.
Which is better for low vision: Fixed layout or Reflowable layout/Responsive layout?
For readers with low vision who access large print, responsive or reflowable layouts are generally preferable because text size and spacing can be adjusted freely. Fixed layouts are more challenging to read on a computer due to the horizontal scrolling involved, though some readers prefer them for image-heavy content because they closely mimic the appearance of a physical book. When possible, consider using Read-Alongs or audiobooks to supplement access to text in fixed layouts that may be challenging to enlarge or read due to contrast/font styles used.
With Read-Along enabled books, readers can listen to the book as they follow along with the on-screen text, which is helpful for low vision access and a great Sora accessibility option that can be used by anyone. If I am reading a fixed layout book, I prefer to have Read-Along enabled so I don’t have to strain my eyes to read the text on the page; I can also listen as it is read out loud.
Related links
- Ten Questions To Ask When Buying Digital Textbooks
- How I Listen To Textbooks With Low Vision
- Amazon Kindle App and Low Vision Accessibility
Examples of Sora eBook features
The exact contents of any eBook will vary by title and publisher. Based on Sora’s documented features, readers can generally expect the following in the eBook reader:
- Table of contents. Accessible by tapping the center of the screen and selecting Chapters; includes chapter-level navigation. Readers who need larger text in menus and navigation areas may want to use screen magnification software such as Magnifier or Zoom to enlarge these elements or rely on the app-wide text size setting.
- Chapter navigation. Skip to the beginning of the current chapter or jump to the next chapter directly from the timeline view.
- Full-text search. Search for any word or phrase within the eBook.
- Bookmarks, highlights, and notes. Add and review bookmarks, highlights, and notes from a dedicated menu.
- Timeline navigation. Slide the timeline at the bottom of the screen to jump to a specific position in the book.
- Recent places. View a history of recently visited locations and return to any of them.
- Page progress. View the current page number or toggle to see reading progress as a percentage of the book. This may need to be enlarged with screen magnification.
- Zoom for fixed-layout content. Tap, click, or pinch to zoom in on images and text in fixed-layout eBooks.
- Alt text for non-decorative images. Sora identifies important images with alt text at the app level; availability within eBook content depends on the publisher.
One of my favorite features is the option to add bookmarks and/or notes. Within an eBook or audiobook, readers can add bookmarks, highlight text (eBook only), and write notes that can be reviewed later. On larger screens, the bookmark icon is available in the top toolbar; on smaller screens, tapping the top-right corner of the screen creates a bookmark. All bookmarks, highlights, and notes can be accessed from the bookmarks and notes menu icon within the reader.
Related links
Sora accessibility for large print and display customization
Sora accessibility settings are accessed through the reading settings icon within the eBook reader and include the following options.
Sora eReader font sizes
The Sora app itself uses the system font size and the font sizes for the eReader are configured separately. The Sora eReader has 15 font size options, which are configured on a slider; 1 is the smallest option, and 15 is the largest. On my iPad Air, the smallest font size for the Sora eReader app is equivalent to approximately 8 pt font, and the largest font size for the Sora eReader app is equivalent to approximately 28 pt font, based on comparisons with printed text and reviewing the CSS style sheet. The page count displayed in the reader will change based on font and screen size and does not reflect the actual page numbers in the book.
To increase the font size of Sora eBooks beyond the accessibility sizes, I recommend using a larger display like a computer monitor or screen mirroring tool to display content. While I like that I can position my screen under the bifocal in my glasses when reading on an iPad, it is easier to increase the font size when accessing Sora on my 27-inch monitor.
Sora eReader font styles
For the Sora app, users can enable either a sans serif font (default) or Dyslexic Font as part of the system settings that is used for all app text with the exception of the eReader, which is configured separately. The Sora eReader offers the following font typefaces for reading:
- Original font (iOS)
- Palatino (iOS)
- Georgia (iOS)
- Old Style (iOS)
- Cochin (iOS)
- Serif
- Sans Serif
- OpenDyslexic (available in Book Design)
Sora lighting styles and high contrast
Sora offers four lighting styles for eBook reading, including:
- Bright (white background, black text)
- Sepia (light brown background, dark brown text)
- Dark (black background, light gray text)
- High contrast (black background, white text)
In addition, a separate app-wide high contrast mode can be enabled in settings to adjust the appearance of the entire app, including eBooks and audiobooks. This means high contrast can be applied both within eBook content and throughout the broader app interface.
Sora display customizations
Sora’s eBook reader includes controls for the following customizations:
- Line spacing: 1.0, 1.5, 2.0
- Normal or heavy weight font (bold font)
- Column: single column, option to turn on two-column mode by selecting option for two pages per screen
- Justification: Left or Justified
Related links
- Mainstream eReader Apps and Low Vision Accessibility
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- My Favorite Free Fonts For Print Disabilities
Sora accessibility options for text-to-speech and read aloud tools
Sora offers several options for accessing eBooks and audiobooks, including:
- Audiobook playback. Audiobook playback speed can be adjusted across 48 speed settings between 0.6x and 3x. Readers can also set sleep timers, add bookmarks, and skip forward or backward during playback.
- Read to Me. Readers can select any word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph in an eBook and choose Read to Me to hear the selected text read aloud. Speed and volume settings for Read to Me can be customized.
- Read From Here. For readers navigating Sora with a screen reader, Read From Here mode is available after opening an eBook to hear the text read aloud continuously from the current position. Read From Here can be entered using the keyboard shortcut Shift + “ when an eBook is open.
- Word pronunciation. Sora allows readers to hear pronunciations of words they look up while reading eBooks, as well as anywhere else defined words appear in the app.
View Sora book with simplified display (requires keyboard)
Sora offers an accessibility view designed for screen reader users that displays text with a small sans-serif font and has buttons for the Sora menu and navigating to the next page; users do not need to have a screen reader turned on to access this page. I activated this view by using the keyboard shortcut Shift + ” on my iPad, Android tablet, and computer; I could not find an icon or other button for activating this view without a screen reader. While I could not change the font size on my screen when using an iPad or Android device, I could increase the font size when reading on my computer.
For students with low vision who do not use large print or students with CVI, this simplified layout may be easier to access compared to the default Sora interface. I could still access the pictures in reflowable layout books and fixed layout books; that said, text in fixed layout books was not displayed consistently within this view.
Related links
- Meet The Cast: Supporting Literacy For Students With CVI
- Dictation and Audio-Based Assistive Technology For Writing
- History Podcasts and Audio-Based Resources For VI Students
- How To Use VoiceOver With Low Vision on iPad
Sora accessibility for screen readers and keyboard access
I have personally used Sora with VoiceOver on an iPad, though it is compatible with other popular screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, and TalkBack; I have not used these other tools with Sora for a prolonged period. With that in mind, Sora contains headers and landmarks, along with skip links for accessing content quickly, and interactive components like text fields, checkboxes, and menus are labeled. Images within the application contain alt text, though alt text support for individual eBook titles varies since not all publishers embed alt text in their eBooks. Screen readers can also be used to read books in the eReader if preferred.
From a keyboard access perspective, the entirety of Sora can be navigated using the Tab key, Enter, and the spacebar. Sora also supports keyboard shortcuts for eBook navigation and quick access to frequently used features, including paging forward and backward, searching book content, starting and stopping audiobooks, and adding bookmarks. A Commands dialog is available within the app that lists all possible keyboard commands and their shortcuts, and a screen reader does not need to be enabled in order to use the keyboard shortcuts.
Sora accessibility hotkeys/Sora accessibility keyboard shortcuts list
- Open Navigation: Shift + N
- Place Bookmark: Shift + B
- Close Book: Shift + Q
- Read From Here: Shift + “
- Previous Page: Left arrow key
- Next Page: Right arrow key
- Previous Chapter: Shift + Left arrow key
- Next Chapter: Shift + Right arrow key
- Contents: Shift + C
- Bookmarks and Highlights: Shift + M
- Search Within Book: Shift + S
- Appearance (text scale, lighting, book design, typeface, justification, line spacing, weight): Shift + A
- Dictionary: Shift + D
- Recent Places: Shift + H
- About This Book: Shift + O
More tips for accessing Sora accessibility features and accessible picture books for low vision
- Just like a school library or public library, the exact titles available on Sora will vary from location to location. I recommend taking advantage of reciprocal library cards to get access to more books. Check out ReciproCard for a list of reciprocal libraries that can be used with Libby: ReciproCard — Find Free Library Cards for Libby
- Want to incorporate Sora titles into other summer reading resources? I share a few tips in How To Create Accessible Summer Reading Lists For Print Disabilities
- Another one of my favorite free library services that incorporates audio/visual books is TumbleBooks: Audio Narrated Picture Books For Low Vision
- Looking for accessible picture books? Read How To Find Accessible Picture Books For Low Vision
Published June 2, 2023. Updated April 2026